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The Subject Unbound: Structuralism, Psychoanalysis, and Revolutionary Consciousness with Andrew Flores, Jr.
Manage episode 518729983 series 2926241
What happens when the revolutionary fervor of Marxism meets the probing depths of the psychoanalytic couch? In this intellectually stimulating conversation, Andrew Flores (host of The Parallax Viewer) explores the fascinating and often contentious relationship between psychoanalytic theory and left politics.
The discussion begins with a fundamental question: why should Marxists care about psychoanalysis at all? Flores argues that psychoanalysis doesn't just treat individual symptoms but addresses the "bourgeois subject"—the psychological effects of living within capitalist social relations. As he eloquently explains, "What psychoanalysis does is deal with a bourgeois subject, the effects of bourgeois consciousness... Marx invented the symptom, not Freud." This provocative claim opens a pathway to understanding how our internal psychological conflicts might reflect broader social contradictions.
Delving into Lacanian theory, Flores unpacks the three registers—Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real—that structure our experience, showing how they relate to political formation and revolutionary potential. The conversation weaves through structuralism, Althusserian Marxism, and contemporary thinkers like Alain Badiou and Domenico Losurdo, revealing the complex theoretical lineages that continue to shape leftist thought.
Perhaps most relevant to our current moment is the discussion of social fragmentation, paranoia, and what might be called our collective psychosis. As conspiracy theories proliferate and ideological certainties dissolve, psychoanalytic concepts offer valuable tools for understanding how individual and collective delusions form in response to social trauma.
Whether you're a seasoned theoretical traveler or new to these intellectual territories, this conversation offers fresh insights into how we might understand the relationship between our inner lives and the social structures that shape them—and perhaps how we might transform both.
Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to Bitterlake
Crew:
Host: C. Derick Varn
Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.
Intro Video Design: Jason Myles
Art Design: Corn and C. Derick Varn
Links and Social Media:
twitter: @varnvlog
blue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.social
You can find the additional streams on Youtube
Current Patreon at the Sponsor Tier: Jordan Sheldon, Mark J. Matthews, Lindsay Kimbrough, RedWolf, DRV, Kenneth McKee, JY Chan, Matthew Monahan, Parzival, Adriel Mixon, Buddy Roark, Daniel Petrovic
Chapters
1. The Subject Unbound: Structuralism, Psychoanalysis, and Revolutionary Consciousness with Andrew Flores, Jr. (00:00:00)
2. Introducing Andrew Flores, The Parallax Viewer (00:01:36)
3. Psychoanalysis and Marxism's Uneasy Relationship (00:04:13)
4. Structure, Subject, and the Lacanian Registers (00:19:03)
5. Structuralism, Althusser, and Political Economy (00:39:01)
6. Fanon, Decolonization, and Psychoanalytic Theory (00:58:04)
7. Badiou, Politics, and Revolutionary Consciousness (01:13:09)
8. Psychosis, Narcissism, and Modern Subjectivity (01:27:20)
9. Theoretical Tensions and Future Directions (01:39:38)
364 episodes
Manage episode 518729983 series 2926241
What happens when the revolutionary fervor of Marxism meets the probing depths of the psychoanalytic couch? In this intellectually stimulating conversation, Andrew Flores (host of The Parallax Viewer) explores the fascinating and often contentious relationship between psychoanalytic theory and left politics.
The discussion begins with a fundamental question: why should Marxists care about psychoanalysis at all? Flores argues that psychoanalysis doesn't just treat individual symptoms but addresses the "bourgeois subject"—the psychological effects of living within capitalist social relations. As he eloquently explains, "What psychoanalysis does is deal with a bourgeois subject, the effects of bourgeois consciousness... Marx invented the symptom, not Freud." This provocative claim opens a pathway to understanding how our internal psychological conflicts might reflect broader social contradictions.
Delving into Lacanian theory, Flores unpacks the three registers—Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real—that structure our experience, showing how they relate to political formation and revolutionary potential. The conversation weaves through structuralism, Althusserian Marxism, and contemporary thinkers like Alain Badiou and Domenico Losurdo, revealing the complex theoretical lineages that continue to shape leftist thought.
Perhaps most relevant to our current moment is the discussion of social fragmentation, paranoia, and what might be called our collective psychosis. As conspiracy theories proliferate and ideological certainties dissolve, psychoanalytic concepts offer valuable tools for understanding how individual and collective delusions form in response to social trauma.
Whether you're a seasoned theoretical traveler or new to these intellectual territories, this conversation offers fresh insights into how we might understand the relationship between our inner lives and the social structures that shape them—and perhaps how we might transform both.
Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to Bitterlake
Crew:
Host: C. Derick Varn
Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.
Intro Video Design: Jason Myles
Art Design: Corn and C. Derick Varn
Links and Social Media:
twitter: @varnvlog
blue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.social
You can find the additional streams on Youtube
Current Patreon at the Sponsor Tier: Jordan Sheldon, Mark J. Matthews, Lindsay Kimbrough, RedWolf, DRV, Kenneth McKee, JY Chan, Matthew Monahan, Parzival, Adriel Mixon, Buddy Roark, Daniel Petrovic
Chapters
1. The Subject Unbound: Structuralism, Psychoanalysis, and Revolutionary Consciousness with Andrew Flores, Jr. (00:00:00)
2. Introducing Andrew Flores, The Parallax Viewer (00:01:36)
3. Psychoanalysis and Marxism's Uneasy Relationship (00:04:13)
4. Structure, Subject, and the Lacanian Registers (00:19:03)
5. Structuralism, Althusser, and Political Economy (00:39:01)
6. Fanon, Decolonization, and Psychoanalytic Theory (00:58:04)
7. Badiou, Politics, and Revolutionary Consciousness (01:13:09)
8. Psychosis, Narcissism, and Modern Subjectivity (01:27:20)
9. Theoretical Tensions and Future Directions (01:39:38)
364 episodes
All episodes
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